


Rewriting Destiny

by esm3rald



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Do-Over, F/M, Gwen is not going to become Queen this time around!, Morgana Repentance, Morgana is NOT Arthur's sister, Romance, Time Travel, no incest!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-03 06:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1734647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esm3rald/pseuds/esm3rald
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time-Travel, AU. Morgana dies at the end of season4. In the after life - in Avalon - she sees her mother and Vivienne explains to her everything that would have happened if she had survived and everything that should have happened if Morgana had remained faithful to her love for Arthur. Morgana's spirit goes back in time to the moment when Merlin first arrives in Camelot. She intends to change whatever went wrong that pulled her and Arthur apart because she knows that she was always supposed to be his Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Morgana could feel her life slipping out of her together with the blood, the wound at her hip throbbing painfully with each breath she took. It was really the end now. She knew she was dying. No more fighting for her rightful place as Queen, she had failed. She looked one last time at the forest around her and instead of the rage that she had often felt lately, she felt at peace, finally. She closed her eyes one last time and before dying, one face appeared behind her eyelids, Arthur's.

She woke up in a place surrounded by mist, every contour around her difficult to distinguish. She stood up and noticed with astonishment that she wasn't wearing the black dress she had started to wear lately but she had on one of her old dresses that she used to wear when she was still the Lady of Camelot, the King's ward. Even her hair were not the messy nest they had become lately, but were silky and styled in the usual waves, cascading perfectly behind her back. She looked around her curiously and then turned her head sharply around when she heard a voice calling her name.

"Morgana." The woman now in front of her was wearing an elegant purple dress and she shared a peculiar resemblance with her. Morgana immediately realized who she was.

"Mother." She breathed, astonished.

"Hello, my child." Vivienne smiled at her warmly.

"Where am I?" Morgana asked, still confused and surprised.

"In Avalon, the place where every person who has magic - or has been born of magic - ends up after death." Her mother answered her with a placid smile.

"So, I am really dead." Morgana expected to feel anger or disappointment but there were none.

"Yes. But this doesn't mean that it's the end for you. You have tasks to accomplish still before you can rest."

"What tasks?" Morgana asked, even more bewildered. Her mother didn't answer her question though, but she indicated with an hand a basin that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of them. "Look inside dear. Look and see what would have happened had you survived." Her mother's tone was suddenly cold and angry. Morgana looked fearfully at her for a second but then did as she was told. The imagines inside the basin were horrifying. She looked at herself becoming more and more deranged until she gasped in astonishment when she saw Arthur and Mordred - an older Mordred - fighting to the death. Morgana didn't expect to feel this afraid, after all she had tried to kill Arthur more than once, the last time just before she had been killed. And yet, she couldn't deny the fact that she was scared for him. Arthur Pendragon, her brother and her greatest weakness. She looked at Arthur, wounded to death, falling against a rock, exhausted and Merlin hovering over him. Then she saw herself, calling out 'Hello Emrys' and she gasped in astonishment. Merlin and Emrys were one and the same, how was it possible? She heard herself speaking to Arthur, mocking him and obviously happy that he was dying and Arthur replying that he had never meant her any harm. Morgana realized suddenly that she was crying and when she saw Merlin use Excalibur against her, she was almost relieved. Suddenly the images inside the basin disappeared and Morgana turned to look at her mother.

"This is what you wanted Morgana?" Her mother's voice was still cold and now had a tone of disappointment in there too.

"No, what I've always wanted was magic to be used freely. No more executions, no more fear for people with magic like me. I never wanted any of this."

"But this is what would have happened had you survived that wound, had the white dragon saved you..."

"Then it's best that I'm dead..."

"No, child. None of this was supposed to happen. Too many things, too many...people got in the way of your destiny and Arthur's..."

"What does it mean?" Morgana couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling.

"I know you love him still, that you have always loved him. And finding out that he was your brother was the last straw for you, wasn't it? It completely devastated you. But there are things that you don't know, things that you should have known. If only someone had told you, everything would be different.

"Arthur is the prophesized King that will unite the land of Albion. He's the only one that will be able to bring magic back to Camelot, the one that will allow magic users to roam freely. But you and Arthur were supposed to reign together. You were supposed to be his Queen. Without you, there will never be an Albion."

"But me and Arthur...we're siblings, we're both Uther's children." Morgana had still difficulty said this out loud. She would never see Arthur as a brother. He had always been so much more than that for her. But it obviously hadn't been the same for him since he had so easily fallen in love with Gwen.

"That is what Uther believed. You were taken in by Uther because he believed you to be his daughter. You were always supposed to grow up in Camelot with Arthur. But you're not brother and sister. You are mine and Gorlois' daughter."

Morgana couldn't help but feel conflicted at that revelation. Part of her was happy that her feelings for Arthur were not wrong, had never been wrong, but the other part of her was deeply wounded by this because now it was too late to do anything about that. "Why are you telling me this? It's too late. I'm dead, and even if I weren't, I did too many terrible things to him to ever be forgiven by him. And I have even less possibility to ever be loved by him now. He's in love with Gwen..." She spat the name like it was poison. "My sweet and innocent maid." She finished sarcastically.

"It's only your fault if Arthur fell in love with Gwen." Her mother answered her calmly.

"What?" She demanded angrily.

"If you had trusted him when you found out you had magic...if you hadn't started to pull away from him, if you had only given him a little bit of encouragement, he would have never fallen in love with Guinevere. And anyway, even now that you are his enemy, part of him still can't stop loving you. And not as a brother loves a sister. Part of him is still in love with you. But you're right...now it's too late. At least, in this timeline..."

"In this timeline?" Morgana asked, confused once again.

"You can change everything, going back in time to the moment Merlin first came to Camelot. But you need to know a lot of things first or you'll become consumed by hate again."

"What kind of things? And it's really possible to go back in time?"

"It's possible for you since you are dead. It's not possible for the living...But, as I was saying, there are things you need to know first. First of all your hatred towards Merlin. You started hating him when he poisoned you. You never understood why he did what he did. Well, I'll tell you. Merlin had realized that the spell put on Camelot's inhabitants was linked to you. It's the reason why you were the only one not affected by the enchantment. Morgause did that spell and the only way to break the spell was to kill you. Merlin had to choose between your life and the lives of everyone else in Camelot. You would have done the same in his position, once upon a time at least..."

"What? No, it's not possible. Morgause would have never done something like this to me. She was my sister, she would have never betrayed me like that."

"And yet she did. Morgause is not who you think she is. She loved you but she manipulated you since the first moment she talked to you. Morgause is not your sister. She's not my daughter or Gorlois'."

"What? No..." Morgana felt weak at the weight of these revelations.

"Yes, Morgana. Morgause grew up in the House of Gorlois but she was not my daughter. Morgause's family were druids. During the Great Purge, her mother and father were killed but me and Gorlois were able to save her. She was only two years old at the time. So, we took her in and she grew up as our daughter until we were forced to convince Gaius to bring her out of Camelot to save her life once again. Morgause knew she was not our daughter, we never hid anything from her. It's why she hated Uther so much and she had her reasons of course. Uther killed her entire family. But she used you in her quest for revenge against him. She convinced you that she was the only family you had left but that's not the truth. Arthur and Gwen and Merlin were your family. You lost sight of that, the moment you found out you had magic."

Morgana felt like she couldn't breathe. Morgause, the only person who she had thought she could trust, was the one who had actually betrayed her the most. But still, she couldn't believe that Arthur, or Gwen would have ever accepted her since she had magic. "Arthur hates magic as much as Uther does. He would have never accepted me. And Gwen is too afraid, she would have never accepted me either. And Merlin had magic but he didn't tell me. He made me believe that I was alone. Having magic was tearing me apart and he did nothing, NOTHING!" Now she could feel the rage once again consuming her, and the hurt.

"Merlin was afraid too. And he trusted Gaius when he told Merlin not to tell you anything. And he always had the Great Dragon whispering in his ear, telling him that you couldn't be trusted. And at the end, you proved him right..."

"The Great Dragon?" Morgana knew that her mother was talking about the dragon that Uther had kept prisoner for twenty years but she couldn't understand what it had to do with anything.

"When Merlin first arrived in Camelot, the Great Dragon called him and told him that he shared a great destiny with Arthur and that he was the only one who could turn Arthur in the King Albion needed. The Great Dragon wasn't completely wrong since Merlin saved Arthur's life numerous times. However, the dragon didn't know that Arthur's destiny was intertwined with yours. Your destiny could go two different ways. The first is the one you have chosen for yourself, the path that brought your doom and that would have brought Arthur and Albion's doom with it. The one the dragon was convinced was the only path for you. But there's another path possible for you, the one where you become Arthur's Queen. With you by his side, Arthur would have finally realized that magic is not evil but that the important thing is the person who uses it. Because of your actions, Arthur right now is still convinced that all magic is evil, that it was magic that corrupted your soul. But we both know it's not like that at all. If you had told Arthur that you had magic, he would have understood that magic can be used for good and that would have been the first step to create an Albion where magic is used without fear of persecution. But you didn't trust him."

Morgana turned her green eyes to the ground, ashamed, at those words. She knew her mother was right. She should have trusted Arthur because she knew that Arthur would have never done anything to harm her. Arthur was a good man, much better than his father could ever hope to be.

"You're right mother. Arthur is a good man and I know he could have never wished me harm. And I understand that Merlin followed Gaius and the Dragon's words and he didn't trust me either, but it was because he was afraid and didn't know what the best course of action was. I understand now. I know that I hated Gwen because I felt like she had stolen everything that I felt belong to me, Arthur's love, the throne of Camelot. But I know it was not her fault. I brought everything that happened to myself. Nobody else is at fault for my actions." Morgana stopped talking for a second. "But I would never forgive Uther for what he did. If I go back in time, don't ask me to stop hating him because I can't."

"You have every right to hate him, Morgana. Nobody is asking you to forgive him. But you can't kill me. Arthur would never forgive you for that. Uther will have his just punishment at the end, but you can't and won't do anything about that. You can't be responsible for his death again, or everything that we're trying to avoid will just happen again. Your love for Arthur MUST be stronger than your hate towards Uther or it will all be in vain."

Morgana took a deep breath but she knew that her mother was right. She had no intention of repeating the same mistakes. She loved Arthur, she had always loved him. And she knew perfectly well that if she did something against his father - even if Arthur loved her - he would never be able to forgive her. She needed to think about the future she could have with him. A future where they would reign together and magic was free. That was the most important thing, not her hatred towards Uther. She could have everything she had ever wanted, she just needed to do things right this time around.

"Yes, I know. I love Arthur and I know that this time, nothing will prevent us from being together. But what about Uther's belief that I'm his daughter? Since he thinks that me and Arthur are related, he would never allow us to get married." Morgana asked then, remembering this particular obstacle.

"And that's why you need to make him forget the fact that he believes you to be his daughter. He will treat you the same way he had always done because - even if Uther has many faults and he did horrible things - he had always cared for you. He will not stop seeing you as a daughter even if he stopped believing you are his."

"I understand." Morgana nodded, eager now to go back in time and make things right.

"Morgana, I have to warn you though. You won't be able to remember numerous events that happened, things that have endangered Camelot during the years. Some things need to happen to transform Arthur from the arrogant Prince he was at the beginning to the just King he is now. Some things cannot be avoided. But you will be able to remember most of this conversation and your magic and what will happen if you continued towards the path you were in. You will forget that you have ever hated Merlin or Gwen or Arthur and part of your hatred towards Uther will disappear too. In short, you will go back to be the girl you were when Merlin first arrived in Camelot, but you will know what you have to do to make things right this time around." Morgana nodded at that, telling her mother without words that she did understand and her mother continued. "Trust and have faith in your love for Arthur and his love for you, that's the most important thing if you want to succeed, if you want a peaceful Albion where magic is used freely."

"I understand mother and I'm ready, whatever it takes." Morgana said with determination.

"Well, then. Close your eyes..." Were the last words she heard before feeling a powerful gust of wind all around her and then she felt no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first chapter. Don't be alarmed if you notice a lot of Mergana(Merlin/Morgana) scenes. This is definitely an ArMor fiction. However, since Morgana and Merlin are on the same side this time, there will be a lot of positive interactions between them. They will share a secret between them and this will make them grow close to each other, thing that Arthur will definitely notice and that will make him jealous(Who doesn't love a jealous Arthur?). Anyway at this point in time Merlin actually had a little crush on Morgana so I'm just following canon.
> 
> Well, this is it, I hope you like it. Oh, this chapter follows the pilot episode 'The Dragon's Call'. You will find senteces taken directly from the script(even of scenes present in the original script of the first episode and that were never actually filmed).

****

**Chapter 1**

**BACK WHEN IT ALL STARTED**

Morgana startled awake, with her heart beating a mile a minute and her mind full of images she was struggling to put an order to. She looked around her and widened her eyes. She was in her old room, in Camelot.

It worked, it actually worked. She was back in the past.

She took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that happened that had brought her there, especially her conversation with her mother.

It seemed impossible that she was alive again, and back in Camelot with no one having any idea what she had actually done.

She remembered most of the horrible things she had done: bringing war to Camelot, trying to kill Uther numerous times until she had succeeded, trying to kill Arthur, Gwen, Merlin.

But the hate that she had felt for so long was practically gone. Just her hate towards Uther was still there but it wasn't as intense as it had been before.

She remembered other things too. How Morgause had lied and manipulate her to get Morgana to do what she wanted. She knew not to trust her now. Her allegiance would not be to Camelot or Uther, but it would be towards Arthur, only towards Arthur from now on.

She knew what she needed to do now, she just had to decide how to do it. She wanted Arthur by her side, the both of them crowned King and Queen and magic used freely and without fear. She knew how to control her magic, she was a High Priestess of the Triple Goddess, she was very powerful but one woman against an entire kingdom wasn't enough.

She had already tried that and looked how good that had turned out. She needed to be very careful. She had no intention of going against Uther or Camelot this time but if the King found out she had magic, that would be the end for her and for the dream of a unified, peaceful Albion. This time around Uther must not suspect even remotely the fact that she had magic. She would not have the fact that he believed she was his daughter as a protection anymore.

And that reminded her, she needed to do the spell to make Uther forget that or he would never allow her to marry his son.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Gwen entered the room, smiling at her. Morgana looked at her and wondered why she had ever wanted to kill her. Gwen was so sweet and kind, why had she hated her so? She couldn't remember. But it didn't matter now. Everything would be different from the last time.

Gwen helped her getting ready for the day. When it came the time for her to wear the dress Gwen had prepared for her, she stopped for a few seconds in wonder. She really was back, in Camelot. She really had a second chance to make things right this time around.

"Are you all right my lady?" Gwen asked her concerned.

"Yes, thank you Gwen." Morgana answered before getting dressed. Suddenly she heard the booming voice of Uther Pendragon from outside, talking to the people gathered around the square. She went to the window to observe what was going on and realized that there was about to be an execution.

"Let this serve as a lesson to all." Uther was saying to the crowd gathered in the square "This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." Uther was saying and then she gave the order to proceed with the beheading. She stared sadly at yet another person being killed because he had magic, unable to turn away, and she felt that familiar hate against Uther, but she knew that she couldn't get lost in it. Arthur needed her and she needed him. That was the most important thing.

"When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm." The King continued, his jovial and smug tone a terrible contrast against the actions he had just taken against an innocent man. "So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin." Morgana grimaced in disgust and felt anger at the injustice of it all. She felt powerless once again against Uther's tyranny, expect this time it was even worse because she couldn't do anything about it or risk losing Arthur once again and she couldn't allow that to happen. That didn't mean that if there was even the slight possibility of her saving people with magic from executions, that she wouldn't act. She intended to save as many people as possible with Uther being none the wiser. That would be a much better revenge that anything else she could have come up with anyway.

Suddenly she noticed an old woman, that had suddenly appeared on the stage, wailing and screaming against the King. "There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son!" She was shouting at the King, her tone distressed and heartbroken. Then she continued, her tone changing into something colder and full of vengeance. "But I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son." Morgana became suddenly alert at those words. Arthur was in danger because of his father's cruelty. She had no intention of letting anything happen to him. She had the power to protect him now.

In the meantime the woman had disappeared into thin air after giving her speech, no matter the guards who had tried to capture her at the King's orders. Part of her was happy that the woman was able to escape but the other part of her was not because she knew that because of this woman, Arthur would be in danger. If only she could remember what had happened the last time, but no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't. Her memories had been blocked or erased somehow.

* * *

She had forgotten how pointless and boring life had been before she had found out she had magic. She had basically spent all morning doing nothing at all. Now she was standing in front of a window from the Griffin landing, looking outside and thinking how she was supposed to protect Arthur if she didn't even know where that woman was. Her musings were interrupted by the King "Morgana."

"Yes?" She answered, turning around in his direction.

"What is this? Why are you not joining us at the feast?" His tone was angry.

Morgana frowned at him. "I just don't think chopping someone's head off is cause for a celebration."

"It was simple justice for what he'd done." Uther answered her coldly.

Morgana looked at him astonished, even if she knew her words were useless. "To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn't hurt anyone."

Uther sighed like she was a small child that couldn't understand something very obvious. "You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like."

"How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?" Morgana retorted, losing a little of her calm façade.

"Until they realise there is no room for magic in my kingdom! You will be with me when I greet Lady Helen." He ordered, losing his temper.

"I told you!" She answered angrily back at him. "I want no part in these celebrations!"

"I'm your guardian! I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect at least respect our finest singer." He turned to leave, indicating that he was done listening to her protests. He just expected her to obey him and that was it.

"You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you will create!" Morgana said to his back. Uther stopped and turned around before replying "I don't fear them".

"Maybe you don't - but you put the rest of us in danger." Morgana continued.

Uther took this in but he didn't reply, he simply turned around and walked away. Morgana shook her head, wondering why she was losing her time arguing with him. She knew perfectly well that trying to change his mind about magic was impossible.

* * *

Morgana was walking through a corridor that lead to the outside courtyard when she noticed Arthur practicing with his knights. She smiled, stopping to observe him. This was the first time this morning that she had seen him. Immediately though, her smile transformed into a frown when she remembered in what circumstances she had seen him the last time.  _'What happened to you Morgana? I thought we were friends.' 'As did I. But alas we were both wrong.'_  She shook her head, trying to forget those images and she kept looking, noticing that the Prince was engaged in tormenting one of his servants. She shook her head at Arthur's behavior. She had forgotten how arrogant and a prat he was before starting to grow up into the leader Camelot needed.

"Where's the target?" Arthur asked the servant, the other knights laughing in the background.

"There, Sir?" The serving boy - Morris was his name - indicated with his hand the target.

"It's into the sun?" Arthur asked him sarcastically.

The servant frowned confused. "But it's not that bright."

"A bit like you then." Arthur replied mockingly. Morgana rolled her eyes at him. It was strange that he still hadn't noticed her observing him. Or maybe he did but he was ignoring her.

"I'll put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?" Morris asked the Prince. He started to move with the heavy target towards the wall. She heard the other knights continuing mocking the poor servant and when she noticed Arthur started throwing daggers at the target, telling Morris to keep moving because he wanted a moving target, she decided that enough was enough and she was about to intervene but there was no need because someone else had already done that. "Hey, come on, that's enough." She heard a voice saying, a voice she immediately recognised: Merlin. Morris had in the meantime dropped the target to the ground, exhausted. "What?" Arthur asked, surprised that someone had dared intervening. Morgana looked at Merlin with a smile.  _'This should be fun'_.

"You had your fun, my friend" Merlin continued.

"Do I know you?" Arthur asked, now between amused and outraged.

"Er..." Merlin said, now a little embarrassed. "I'm Merlin." He held his hand out to shake Arthur's but the Prince just looked at it without taking it. "So, I don't know you." Arthur said with a mocking tone. "No" Was Merlin's simple answer. "Yet, you called me 'friend'".

Merlin's face had become suddenly hard and Morgana shivered for a second at that expression that too often had been directed towards her in the her past. "That was my mistake." he replied coldly.

"Yes, I think so." Arthur agreed, thinking Merlin was apologising.

"Yeah. I'd never be friends with someone who could be such an ass." Continued Merlin, evidently surprising Arthur. Merlin started walking away but Arthur's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Or I with one who could be so stupid. Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees." Morgana decided that now was the time for her to intervene. "No" Had answered Merlin in the meantime.

The time it took for her to reach the two of them, Merlin had already tried hitting Arthur and Arthur had now had a firm grip on Merlin's arm that had twisted behind his back. "I'll have you thrown in jail for that." She heard Arthur saying and Merlin's question at that statement. "What, who do you think you are? The King?"

"No, I'm his son, Arthur." Morgana had finally reached them and she immediately said. "Come on, Arthur, that's enough." Arthur turned around to look at her and glared in her direction. "This does not concern you Morgana."

"I don't think he deserved being thrown in jail just because he recognised that you behaved as a prat. He told you nothing but the truth after all." Morgana smirked at him and she heard Merlin snorting at her words.

"He tried to hit me Morgana." Arthur protested with a whiny voice.

"Just because you provoked him." Morgana came closer to him and put an hand on his arm, wondering if she had as much influence over him as she hoped she did. She looked into his eyes and whispered but loud enough for Merlin, who was still standing beside them, to hear. "Come on, Arthur. He doesn't deserve to be put in jail. You know that. It's just your stupid ego getting in the way. Please, let him be." When she noticed Arthur hesitating, she added, hoping to convince him. "For me."

Arthur looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and nodded. "Fine." And then turning towards Merlin. "You can go. But another comment about my training or interference on your part and I'll send you directly to jail. Are we clear?" Merlin glared at him but nodded.

Morgana, satisfied that she had some influence over Arthur after all and that she had saved Merlin from a night in a cold cell in the dungeons, nodded at the Prince and Merlin and then left. She had just walked a few steps when she heard Merlin's voice calling towards her. She turned around and stopped. Merlin reached her side and said "Thank you. For what you did for me. Convince Prince Prat to let me go." Then, probably noticing what he had just said, he blushed but continued. "I'm Merlin by the way." Morgana smiled at him. "I'm Morgana. The Lady Morgana actually...I'm the King's ward." At Merlin's alarmed look, she continued. "You can call me Morgana, I don't mind. Being called 'Lady' all the time gets tiring after a while. It's too formal." Merlin smiled at her and then he thanked her once more before walking away, probably directed towards Gaius' chambers.

* * *

Morgana waited a few minutes to make sure Gwen had been able to reach her home and retire for the night and then left her bed before making her way outside her room and towards the King's chambers. She needed to be extra-careful if she didn't want to end up like Thomas Collins.

She looked first left and then right, in front of and behind her but fortunately she didn't meet any guard. She reached Uther's chambers and went inside without making any noise. She looked at the King sleeping peacefully and for a moment she was reminded of that time when she had entered into his chambers to stab him with the knife Arthur had given her as a birthday gift. She breathed deeply to calm herself and then came closer towards the bed. She immediately put a sleeping spell on him to make sure he wouldn't wake up while she was chanting. She didn't want to leave anything to chance.

She took another deep breath before starting to chant " _Ofergiete mec swá þín dohtor._ _Ð_ _u ágoest ángilde an eafora *****_ " She continued repeating, over and over again. She knew her eyes had become gold and she could feel the spell taking effect on the King. She breathed in relief that she had been able to do it and was about to leave his chambers when she realized that he was still under the sleeping spell. She chanted a counteractive spell and then finally got back to her own room. Only when she was safely ensconced into her own bed, she allowed herself to smile.

* * *

Merlin was lying on his bed, unable to sleep. He had arrived in Camelot only two days ago and so much had already happened. As soon as he had set foot in Camelot, he had been met with the execution of someone guilty only of having practiced magic, not something you wanted to be faced with if you had magic yourself. Then Gaius had found out Merlin had magic the moment he had crossed Gaius' chambers. After that, he had ended up antagonizing who he thought was simply an arrogant knight and that, instead, turned out to be the King's son. He had been saved from ending up in jail by the beautiful and kind King's ward - the Lady Morgana - the same woman he had seen looking sadly from a window at the execution going on in the square below her. He had met the sweet Gwen, the Lady Morgana's maid. He had fought again against Prince Arthur - or as he called him Prince Prat -, using magic to humiliate him, and let's not forget about Lady Helen who was acting really suspicious and who he thought was someone who had magic too. So yes, two intense days to say the least.

"Merlin... Merlin..." He suddenly heard from nowhere. A voice was calling him. The same voice he had heard yesterday night. He decided to get up to follow it. He wanted to find out who or what was calling him. He left Gaius' chambers without waking Gaius himself and reached the town square. The voice kept calling him. "Merlin..." He crossed the square and reached the Wrought Iron Stairway. He descended the stairs until he arrived into the castle's dungeons. He noticed two guards playing dice while keeping guard. He needed to find a way to distract them to pass unobserved. He used his magic to make the dice roll and the guards - like idiots - followed behind. Merlin smirked a little at that. He grabbed a torch from the wall and headed down towards the tunnel in front of him. The voice kept calling him still.

He finally entered inside an enormous cave, it was so big that you could barely make out the ceiling.

"Merlin" the voice said again, chuckling slightly. It seemed...happy for whatever reason.

"Where are you?" Merlin raised his voice slightly, a little exasperated.

Suddenly a huge creature came flying from out of nowhere in front of him. It was a dragon, the last dragon Gaius had told him about earlier today to be exact. Merlin drew back slightly, a little scared if he was honest but curious most of all.

"I'm here!" The dragon said to him. "How small you are for a such a great destiny."

Merlin looked at him confused at those words. "Why? What do you mean? What destiny?"

"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason." The dragon simply replied.

Merlin breathed in relief at that. "So there is a reason."

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion." The dragon explained.

"Right." Merlin replied in a tone that clearly said that he didn't care much about him.

"But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike." The dragon continued like he hadn't talked.

"I don't see what this has to do with me." Merlin said, even more confused.

"Everything. Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

"No. No, you've got this wrong." Merlin grimaced, he and Prince Prat shared a destiny together? Please, the dragon MUST be wrong.

"There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't."

"But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand."

The dragon laughed at that. "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."

Merlin shook his head in protest. "No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."

"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

"Why can't it be Morgana the future Queen or something? She would be a much better choice than that idiot"

"Ah, the Lady Morgana. Have you met her then?" the dragon said, his voice suddenly different, more serious.

"Yes, yesterday in fact. She convinced Arthur not to put me in jail for having told him that he's a prat and for trying to hit him." Merlin smiled in remembrance at that. The way she had manipulated Arthur to do what she wanted, very clever. It was obvious that Morgana had a great influence on Arthur.

"She could become Queen one day, just like you want. She could marry Arthur and the two of them would reign together."

Merlin grimaced. "No, she can't marry him."

The dragon chuckled again. "Unfortunately this is not a clear future. I can't see it with certainty but it's the best version of the future. You need to find a way for that to happen in reality. If Arthur marries Morgana, Albion will really come to be. But if Morgana becomes evil, like some visions tell me could happen, then everything you and Arthur will try to build, will be in vain. Morgana is the key to everything."

"Become evil? But she's so kind." Merlin couldn't believe someone like Morgana could ever become evil.

"Sometimes, even the kindest of hearts can become corrupted by hate." The dragon replied sadly. "But you need to stop this from happening. Arthur and Morgana must reign together, or there will never be a united Albion when magic is used freely."

And with that said, the dragon flew away. Merlin tried to call him back, he needed to know more. But the dragon was gone.

* * *

Morgana looked outside the window of her chamber, a bored look on her face. She missed being able to use magic freely, actually being able to move freely at all. She had been back to Camelot only a few days and it already felt like a prison.

She couldn't help but think once again about what had happened between Merlin and Arthur. Seeing with her own eyes the way they had clashed so spectacularly, it was incredible to think that they would become such good friends in the future. But become friends they did.

Morgana felt conflicted about her feelings towards Merlin. A part of her couldn't help but feel admiration, knowing who he really was, the great Emrys. Another was actually scared of him since Emrys was supposed to be her doom in her old life. And then there were her feelings of jealousy for the easy relationship he had with Arthur.

She also felt compassion and empathy towards him, because - just like her - Merlin was forced to hide who he really was, except with Gaius, Morgana suspected. It was obvious now that Gaius had known Merlin had magic. Like he had known Morgana herself had magic.

Morgana felt suddenly angry towards the old physician but tried to reign herself in. All those negative emotions were the reason why she had let herself become someone she was not. She didn't want to turn into that vengeful and hateful person she had been back then. She was a new Morgana, or the oldest, better version of herself.

She suddenly heard the chamber's door open and immediately thought it was Gwen, that had come to help her prepare for the feast. She didn't even turn around to look, she simply went behind her changing screen and started taking her dress off. "You know, I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole." She started saying, even if both her and Gwen knew that she was lying. But she needed to behave as she would have done once upon a time. If she suddenly started to enumerate Arthur's virtues and saying how much she loved him, everyone would immediately realize that something wasn't right with her. She didn't want to make anyone suspicious of her.

"Pass me that dress, will you Gwen?" She asked then. She found strange the fact that Gwen hadn't replied to what she had just said but let it pass.

She started to put the new dress on and continued "I mean, the man's a total jouster. And just because I'm the King's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it? " In actuality, she was disappointed that Arthur hadn't asked her.

A moment of silence from Gwen and Morgana started to become confused. "Well, does it?" She asked again. "Mm-Mmm." She heard an high-pitched voice answering, one that didn't sound like Gwen at all. What was going on? "If he wants me to go, then he should invite me, and he hasn't." She continued, pretending like she hadn't noticed anything wrong. "So do you know what that means?" She asked rhetorically. "Mm-Mmm." The voice that wasn't Gwen answered again.

"Where are you?" Morgana asked then, turning her head towards the door and seeing a figure hidden behind one of her cloaks. She immediately recognized who he was and smirked. What was Merlin doing in her chambers?

"Here." Merlin replied, in the same high-pitched voice as before. He sounded panicked. "It means I'm going by myself." Morgana continued, turning her head away from him. Then deciding to have some fun at his expense she asked "I need some help with this fastening." She wondered how he was going to get out of this situation.

"Gwen?" She called then, since Merlin was still immobile. "I'm here." The real Gwen replied, obviously having arrived in just that moment.

Gwen went behind the screen to help her with her dress. She came out from behind the screen and looked around her. No Merlin in sight.

"So, what do you think Merlin was doing in my room?" Morgana asked casually towards Gwen. Gwen looked at her surprised. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. His imitation of a woman's voice leaves much to be desired. I wish I actually saw his face when I asked him to help me with the dress." Morgana smirked and Gwen laughed.

"So, how much have you heard of what I said about Arthur?" She asked then.

Gwen smiled at her and replied. "Enough to know that you wish he had invited you to the feast." She replied slyly.

Morgana immediately protested but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone. "I want him to regret not inviting me. So, you know what I'll do? I'll wear this little tease" and with that she showed her the dress she wanted to wear for the evening.

It was red with a belt made of golden leaves and it was a little daring since it would have left her shoulders bare.

She wanted to leave Arthur with his mouth hanging opened. "and give him a night he would really remember" She continued aloud, a smirk passing through her lips.

* * *

Arthur was recounting once again what had happened between him and that boy Merlin yesterday. "So I stood up and..." He fainted a punch into one of his friends' stomach and the knights around him immediately started to laugh. Arthur immediately joined them.

Suddenly he noticed the attention of his knights had shifted. They were all looking in the same direction, towards the door, so he turned around too and that's when he saw her.

Morgana, wearing a rather bold red dress that left her free to show more milky skin than usual.

Arthur couldn't stop looking at her while she glided through the crowd. The words "God have mercy" coming completely unbidden out of his mouth.

She was so beautiful. Of course, he had noticed that Morgana was pretty, he wasn't blind, and obviously the other knights had noticed it too. And yet, the actual realization of how much beautiful she was, hadn't really struck him until that evening. She was almost ethereal, catching the attention of every male in the room.

Arthur felt a frisson of jealousy at that, not liking the way they were looking at her, with admiration mixed with lust. Even Merlin was looking at her entranced.

Arthur decided to approach Morgana now that there was still time to talk with her, since it wasn't Lady Helen's turn to sing just yet.

Morgana smiled at him once she saw him arrive but Arthur perceived that smile as one of satisfaction for having left all the men in the room completely speechless.

"Oh, I didn't see you arrive, Morgana." Arthur said casually towards her. Morgana raised an eyebrow in reply because they both knew it was a blatant lie.

"Oh, and I didn't notice you were here or I would've come over, Arthur." Morgana said without batting an eyelash.

Arthur came close to her until he was standing next to her. "I've got to say - that is an absolutely gorgeous dress." Morgana looked at him, surprised that he was actually paying her a compliment.

"Have you seen it? The woman just behind you, she looks fantastic." Morgana changed expression for a second at those words before returning to smile. "Yes, I saw her earlier, she was with that really handsome man."

Arthur tried to no grit his teeth in irritation at that, wondering who this handsome man was "Not your type." He immediately said back.

"You don't know my type."

"Yes, I do. The ones you have to chase." Arthur replied with certainty.

"No, I like the ones who have to beg." She whispered back, coming closer towards him. Arthur gulped at that, his gaze suddenly shifting towards her lips.

The moment was interrupted however by his father, telling everyone to take their places because the feast was about to begin.

Arthur escorted Morgana towards her seat before sitting himself at the table. He shook his head and wondered what the hell had that been. That moment with Morgana earlier. He and Morgana were like siblings, were they? They had grown up together. And yet, Arthur didn't exactly feel brotherly feelings towards her, not with the way he had looked at Morgana's lips earlier.

* * *

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity." Uther was saying, standing behind the table, in the central position. All the other people there were standing too, waiting for Uther to finish his speech. Morgana refrained from rolling her eyes at his words. "It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." The lady in question entered the room and immediately everyone applauded. They sat as one while Lady Helen stayed standing, ready to give her performance. Morgana wondered if she was as good as they said.

A few minutes into the song, Morgana noticed that something was wrong. She was feeling suddenly drowsy and she had a sudden urge to fall asleep. Cobwebs started forming all around her and all the other other people gathered there.

She immediately figured out that it was because of the song Lady Helen was singing. She was placing an enchantment on all of them. She covered her hears to counteract the effect of the song and her mind became clear once again.

It was in that moment that she noticed, she was not the only one awake. Merlin was awake too and was looking towards her. Lady Helen kept singing and approaching Arthur in the meantime. She hadn't noticed that Morgana wasn't asleep like everyone else, her attention was completely focused on the Prince of Camelot.

Morgana became desperate to stop her and immediately got an idea when she noticed the huge chandelier hanging over Lady Helen's head. She didn't care if Merlin found out this early that she had magic, she needed to protect Arthur.

She noticed Lady Helen pulling a dagger out of her sleeve, ready to stab Arthur and she immediately began to chant a spell under her breath to drop the chandelier over her head. It worked. Lady Helen had lost consciousness under the weight of the chandelier and the court members had began to awake.

Morgana immediately looked at Merlin again and noticed that he was looking at her astonished. Morgana tried to convene with her eyes the need for them to talk. Merlin nodded back at her.

Unfortunately it wasn't over. Uther and Arthur had woken up and were looking around them, trying to understand what was going on. They immediately noticed Lady Helen - now Mary Collins, having resumed her original appearance once the spell had been broken - lying on the floor.

Mary though had woken up and found enough force within herself to throw the dagger towards Arthur. Morgana panicked, not having any idea how to stop the dagger from reaching Arthur's heart.

Fortunately she didn't need to do anything because Merlin had promptly reacted to this new threat and had slowed time with magic enough to reach Arthur and pull him out of harm's way. The dagger hit the chair when a moment before Arthur had been sitting. Morgana noticed the prince looking at it in astonishment.

Morgana breathed a sigh of relief. Arthur was safe.

Uther turned his surprised gaze towards Merlin and said, a smile on his face. "You saved my boy's life." Obviously he hadn't noticed Merlin using magic to do it or his reaction would have been much different. "A debt must be repaid."

Merlin looked sheepish at that. "Oh, well..."

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."

"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness." Merlin tried to protest at that. Morgana followed the scene amused.

"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special."

Merlin looked both resigned and pleased at that "Well..."

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant." Both Arthur and Merlin looked less than happy at the King's announcement but neither of them dared protest aloud. The court immediately applauded.

Morgana looked at Arthur and caught his eye. She smirked at him, enjoying his misery and Arthur glared right back at her.

* * *

"Merlin!" Morgana immediately called out to him. Merlin, that was about to enter inside Gaius' chambers, stopped and turned to look at her. He sighed at seeing her there and nodded. "Better come inside. It's better if no one hears us having this conversation." Morgana immediately agreed.

"So, you have magic hum?" Merlin immediately asked her once the both of them had sat down.

"As do you." Merlin nodded before asking. "Were you born this way or have you been practicing it in secret?" Merlin asked her curiously.

"A bit of both actually." Morgana hadn't thought about what she was actually going to say to Merlin but she was everything but a bad liar. The words to say to him came to her immediately, without needing to think about it. "I always had nightmares, since I can remember." She explained without looking at his face.

"Well, a few years ago I realized that mine were not simple nightmares, they were actually visions of the future. I had magic." She stopped for a second to look at him and noticed that Merlin had a look of understanding on his face.

"Well, you can imagine my reaction at that revelation. Me, the King's ward, having magic? I was so scared at first, scared of being discovered, scared of who I was. But then I realized that maybe, magic is not a bad thing in itself, maybe magic is just something that chose you and that it's your choice what to do with it. If you want to use this gift that has been given to you for good or for evil."

Merlin was looking at her in open admiration at that and Morgana felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze but continued. "So, I realized that if I wanted to avoid being discovered or hurt anyone unintentionally, I needed to learn how to control it. So I stole Arthur's keys of the castle's vaults and stole a book of spells from it - Uther keeps magical items of every kind inside it, I knew there was a possibility I could find a book of spells there. And I started to teach myself spells." Morgana finished with a smile.

Merlin smiled back before saying "You don't know how much it means to me, knowing that I'm not alone."

Morgana looked sadly back at him before replying "Me too, Merlin, me too."

* * *

Morgana hadn't planned to go see Arthur that night but after her talk with Merlin, she had the sudden urge to see him. She wanted to make sure that he was real, that all of this was real. But she especially wanted to make sure he was really okay. She knocked on his door gently and a few seconds later Arthur opened the door. He wasn't wearing any vest so she had the perfect view of his chest. She gulped slightly, having suddenly forgot what she was doing there.

"Morgana?" Arthur said, surprised at having found her there. Morgana shook herself out of her daze and looked at his face. "Arthur...I..." she hesitated, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She took a deep breath before continuing "I wanted to make sure you were okay." She said in the end.

Arthur's look suddenly became warm. "I'm fine." Then, maybe noticing how gentle he was being, he added, his tone suddenly smug. "Were you actually worried about me? Oh, Morgana, I'm touched"

Morgana glared, irritated at his arrogant behavior. In a haughty voice, she said "Actually no. Wanting to know how you were was just an excuse. I wanted to warn you to treat Merlin well. It certainly was not his choice to become your servant. I mean, who in their right mind could ever choose to become your personal servant? I really pity him."

Arthur glared at her, obviously offended and maybe a little hurt. "Since when do you worry about a servant?"

"Since always, I'm not a selfish idiot like you. And anyway, Merlin is not a simple servant, he's special." Arthur's gaze turned deadly. Morgana could be wrong but it actually looked like he was jealous. "My father would never condone a relationship between his ward and a servant, you know?" He asked scathingly. Morgana rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Fine, I'll try not to torment him too much. Are you done now? I would like to go back to sleep, it's been a long day." Arthur said, arms folded in front of his chest. Morgana nodded before bidding him goodnight. She turned to walk away and stopped "I was really worried about you tonight. I couldn't bear to see you hurt...or worse." She said with her back turned towards him. She didn't wait to hear his answer, she just walked away towards her chambers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *These two senteces can be translated pretty much as:
> 
> 'Ofergiete mec swá þín dohtor' = 'Forget me as your daughter'
> 
> 'Ðu ágoest ángilde an eafora' = 'You have only one son'
> 
> It's old English. I don't know how much of it is actually correct, I never studied it, I just used a translator. If someone here has actually studied it and knows what the correct form is, please, let me know!


	3. Chapter 2 - Knight Valiant

****

**Chapter 2**

**KNIGHT VALIANT**

_"I don't want to be brave. I just want to be myself. I don't want to be alone anymore"_

**_(Morgana - Merlin, Season 2)_ **

Morgana, after the talk with Merlin of a few days ago, had actually stolen a book of spells from the vault to corroborate her story even more. She had hid it literally inside the stone floor, creating a crack in one of the stones that formed the floor big enough to encase the book inside and then she had closed it again with magic. It would be impossible for anyone without magic to find it, and since nobody but Merlin knew that she actually had the book in the first place, it was a perfect hiding place. And the best thing was that nobody had actually noticed that something had been stolen at all from the vaults.

The book contained every kind of light spells imaginable but especially healing spells and Morgana had started to study them, little by little, every night. It was fortunate for her that she was quick at grasping spells. When Morgause had taught her, she had learned everything so fast and easily that even Morgause had been surprised. She had actually needed only three years of learning magic to being able to actually reach Morgause's level when Morgause had studied magic since she was little and then Morgana had needed just another year to actually outmatch her.

The thing was though that, while she knew more dark spells that she cared to count, she didn't know any spell that would actually be useful in helping someone. She knew only how to destroy with her magic, now she needed to learn how to cure and help with it.

Morgana sighed at those thoughts before looking outside her window and she noticed Arthur training for the upcoming tournament. She actually laughed when she noticed that Arthur wasn't using a target practice but that it was Merlin the target for his attacks. They were locked in a fake duel with Merlin bravely defending himself against Arthus's swipes with the sword.

In a moment of impulsiveness, she asked Gwen to fetch her her amour. She wanted to spar against Arthur. It had been so long since the last time she had done it. She tried not to think about the last time she had crossed swords with Arthur and smiled at Gwen elated. Gwen grinned back at her. This will surely prove to be fun.

In a few minutes she was outside in the courtyard and heard Arthur giving Merlin instructions. Merlin seemed absolutely confused and Morgana smiled, amused.

"How about trying to spar with someone more of your level?" She called out to Arthur. Immediately Arthur and Merlin turned to look at her, Merlin surprised and Arthur irritated. "No offense Merlin." She added after a second, not wanting him to think she was trying to insult or demean him. "None taken." Merlin said with the same admiring smile he was starting to use too often while looking at her. Morgana felt a little uncomfortable at Merlin's obvious crush on her but she didn't say anything. She knew it would pass, she was certain of it. It was the novelty of the situation, the fact that the both of them were magical and because of that were sharing a very important and dangerous secret. Merlin felt that he could trust her and at the same time that he wasn't alone anymore. Morgana could definitely relate to that so she understood where his feelings were coming from. He would forget about this crush of his soon enough, when he would realize that she could never love him because she was already in love with Arthur. And then, they could really be friends like Morgana was hoping. The two of them, the magical power they had, they could be amazing together, unstoppable. No enemy of Camelot could ever hope to beat them if they stick together, Morgana was absolutely sure of that.

"I'm not going to spar with you Morgana!" Arthur answered with a disbelievingly look, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"And why not?" She asked indignantly before smirking at him. "You're not scared, are you? I mean, you should be. After all the times I beat you when we were younger..."

Arthur scoffed at that. "You are delusional Morgana. You've never beat me. And if you did it's because I let you win. I was being a gentleman."

Morgana raised an eyebrow back at him. "What's the problem then? If you're so sure of yourself...spar with me."

Arthur looked at her with a penetrating look, debating the pros and cons before sighing and smiling. "Fine. But don't think that I'm going to go gentle on you just because you're a woman."

"I don't need you to be gentle with me." Morgana answered with a glare. "I'm going to beat you."

"Sure, keep dreaming Morgana!" With that said they put themselves into position and then, as one, they started attacking each other. Arthur was obviously the strongest opponent but Morgana was light and quick on her feet and was able to par most of Arthur's blows. They were going all in, both of them smiling at having finally found their match. Arthur was the best knight in Camelot, if not in all of Albion, and Morgana knew that with a sword she could stand up to every man because she was exceptionally skilled with it.

Morgana knew Merlin was watching the two them dueling but her attention was completely on Arthur like his was on her. Arthur had a fire in his eyes that was exciting to see, his competitiveness shining through with every movement of the sword in his hand. After a few minutes the fight was over, with Morgana sprawled on her back and Arthur's sword at her neck. Arthur was hovering over her, his body a few centimeters away from her and she found herself breathing hard, not because of the exertion due to the duel but because of his close proximity to her. Arthur seemed to be having the same problem because the hold he had on his sword had loosened and his attention seemed to be reverted to her lips. She could see Arthur moving closer and closer to her and Morgana really thought he was about to kiss her when the moment was interrupted by Merlin clearing his throat.

The two of them immediately sprung apart and got to their feet.

"See Morgana? There's no way you ever beat me. I just proved it to you." Arthur immediately said with his usual cocky smirk that infuriated her and made her want to kiss him at the same time.

She rolled her eyes at his usual arrogance and replied "Sure, keep telling yourself that." Merlin snorted at that and Morgana winked at him conspiratorially. Arthur, noticing the exchange of looks at his expense, glared at the both of them.

"How about you go now Morgana? I have real training to do. I'm sure you will need to choose your dress for the feast. God knows you will need all the help you can get to look decent." Arthur said with a mocking smirk.

Morgana glared at him, a little offended, even if she actually didn't think he was being serious.

"I think she looks great!" Merlin commented without thinking and Arthur's answering glare was scalding. Morgana smirked, she knew that glare. It was his 'Morgana is mine' glare, the one he always used when his knights 'dared' complimenting her and paying attention to her. She wasn't sure he was even aware of doing it.

Merlin paled a little under Arthur's glare but Arthur wasn't done. "The Lady Morgana is the King's ward Merlin. Don't forget that just because she's friendly with you. My father wouldn't take it well to you showing her those kind of attentions."

"Arthur! Enough!" Morgana intervened immediately, not liking Arthur's tone at all. "He was just paying me a compliment. Obviously not everyone thinks as you do about me. Some people actually appreciates me." Then with a look towards Merlin she added "Thank you Merlin." Merlin immediately smiled back at her.

Arthur looked offended at her reprimand but didn't add anything else.

"Well, I'll go now. I'll leave you to your training. God knows you will need all the help you can get to win this tournament." She said, using the same exact words he did. With that said, she turned around, not stopping even when she heard Arthur's cry of indignation towards her. She smirked again, teasing Arthur was always fun.

* * *

"So, how was your first day as Arthur's servant?" Gaius immediately asked him with a chuckle as soon as he entered inside his chambers. Merlin grimaced a little. He tapped his head before asking rhetorically "Do you hear clanging?"

He sat at the table with a tired sigh before actually answering Gaius' question. "Ah! It was horrible and I've still got to learn all about tournament etiquette by the morning." That reminded him " _Onhríne achtung bregdan!"_ Hecasted the spell to call the etiquette book to him because he didn't have the force to get up and take it himself. And of course he was reprimanded by Gaius because of that _._

"What do I do if you get caught?" Gaius asked him with a worried tone.

"What would you do?" Merlin asked right back.

"Well, you just make sure it doesn't happen, for both our sakes." Gaius said, without actually answering Merlin's question.

 _"_ Ah! I save Arthur from being killed and I end up as a servant. How is that fair?"

"I'm not sure fairness comes into it. You never know, it might be fun." Gaius answered with a light smirk.

"You think mucking out Arthur's horses is going to be fun? You should hear my list of duties." Merlin grimaced again just thinking about it.

"We all have our duties. Even Arthur." Gaius tried to defend the Prince but Merlin wasn't really listening.

"It must be so tough for him with all the girls and the glory." He stated sarcastically.

"He is a future king. People expect so much of him. He's under a lot of pressure."

"Yeah, but...I mean...even Morgana seemed to be taken with that prat. They bicker constantly of course but I see the way she looks at him. I don't understand..." Merlin commented more to himself than anything else. Gaius looked at him alarmed at those words.

"Please Merlin, tell me you are not actually smitten with the King's ward. Uther would have your head if he only suspected it"

Merlin immediately denied it but at Gaius' skeptical look he admitted "I...I can't help it. She's so beautiful and kind, and she actually treats me like a person, not a servant. And she's like me..."

"Like you?" Gaius asked, looking alarmed again.

Merlin lowered his voice at that. "She has magic like me."

"How do you know this?" Gaius asked with an hysterical note in his voice.

"You don't sound surprised, how is that?" Merlin asked, now curious and a little suspicious.

"I suspected it for years. Because of her nightmares. But the question is, how do you know of it?"

"She told me." Merlin said with a shrug. "When that woman tried to kill Arthur at the feast, the only two people not under the effect of her spell were me and Morgana so we talked about it after..."

"Morgana knows you have magic?" Gaius asked, barely restraining himself for shouting at him.

"Yes, like I know she does. I mean, she actually saw me using it, to save Arthur and I saw her using it to drop the chandelier over that woman's head."

"Morgana actually knows how to use her magic?" Now he sounded really astonished.

"Yes." Merlin asked with a questioning tone in his voice.

"But how? I didn't even know she had found out she had magic in the first place."

"Morgana told me that she realized that her dreams were not actually simple dreams because the things she dreamt became true. That's when she realized she had magic and she said that she wanted to know how to control it so she stole a book of spells from the castle vaults and started to learn on her own."

Gaius had widened his eyes at that revelation. "I had no idea. When did it happen?"

"I don't know exactly. A few years ago." Merlin answered with a shrug.

"But, if she knew what the reason of those nightmares was, why did she continue coming to me asking for sleeping draughts?"

"Well, the fact that she knows why she has these nightmares doesn't mean that she wants to continue having them or that she knows how to stop them. Maybe that was the only way she knew how to have a respite for these visions. And maybe she didn't want to make anyone suspicious by changing her behavior."

Gaius was nodding at that. "Yes, you're right. Of course you're right. Poor girl, she must have felt so alone and scared..." Gaius shook his head but he actually appeared relieved that Morgana had found out about her magic that way.

"Yeah. I actually have an idea of how she actually felt but at least I didn't found out inside Uther Pendragon's castle, the man intent on killing every single being who has magic, and I had my mother to support me and now I have you. She has been so brave." He didn't realize he was sporting a dreaming look on his face until Gaius scolded him again. "Merlin, remember, she's still the King's ward."

Merlin scowled at that. "You're the second person who reminded me of this fact today. I know who she is."

At Gaius' raised eyebrow, he added. "Arthur. Morgana showed up while Arthur was training and convinced him to spar against her. By the way, wow, she's actually amazing with a sword."

"Yes." Gaius intervened, answering his unspoken question. "Her father Gorlois taught her since she was little until his death and when she came here, since she was still young, Uther didn't stop her from training together with Arthur when he was still starting to learn how to use a sword. But why Arthur had to remind you that Morgana is the King's ward? What did you do?" Gaius asked, looking suspiciously back at him.

"Nothing." Merlin said immediately. "Arthur had the courage to say that Morgana needed 'all the help she could get to look decent'. Of course I said that she looked great. I mean, is Arthur actually blind besides being an idiot?"

Gaius laughed at that. "I'm sure Arthur didn't actually mean it. Those two have been at each other's throats since the first time Morgana showed up in Camelot. And they have been in love for just as much. It's been years now and they still haven't admitted their feelings towards each other. All of Camelot is still waiting with bathed breath for the two of them to announce their engagement but for now they had been severely disappointed."

Merlin grimaced once again at the remainder of Arthur and Morgana's destiny as King and Queen of Camelot. Of course he knew that Morgana would make an amazing Queen but being married with Arthur? He really couldn't swallow the idea so easily.

* * *

Morgana watched from the highest stand, in her usual place next to the King, the beginning of the tournament. Gwen, sitting next to her as her maid, watched excitedly as the various competitors entered the tournament grounds to be presented in front of the King.

"Knights of the realm" Uther was saying in one of his famous speech "it's a great honor to welcome you to a tournament at Camelot. Over the next three days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur." Morgana searched for Arthur at these words and immediately spotted him in the middle of all the other knights. Soon after her gaze clashed with his. Arthur inclined his head towards her slightly with a smile and Morgana smiled back before her face turned blank once again.

"Only one can have the honor of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of 1,000 gold pieces." Uther continued, showing everyone the box containing the gold. "It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior or a coward. The tournament begins!" The crowd immediately cheered at those words and then the tournament finally began.

She followed the various duels with excitement, it was certainly more entertaining than wandering around the castle without actually nothing to do.

She wasn't really surprised that Arthur won every single duel, he wasn't the best knight of Camelot for nothing. She was surprised though by the other knight who won against every competitor he was faced with. His name was Sir Valiant and Morgana was immediately suspicious of him. Maybe she was being paranoid but it was the first time she had actually seen this knight in all the years she had watched this particular tournament. And since he wasn't particularly young - Arthur must have been 10 years younger than him - the reason wasn't because he had become a knight just that year or something like that. She really hoped he wasn't yet another sorcerer who had come to get revenge on Uther by killing his son.

* * *

Morgana was standing at the end of the Throne Room together with Uther, to greet the participants in the tournament. Gwen was standing a little behind her, but beside her, as was the custom as a personal maid. Finally, the knight she was actually looking forward to meet, made his way in front of them.

"Knight Valiant of the Western Isles, My Lord." He introduced himself with a bow to the King. He was wearing a yellow vest with serpents intertwined almost to form a triad, a symbol of magic. But maybe that was just a coincidence. The Pendragon symbol was a dragon after all, a creature of magic.

"I saw you fighting today." Uther said in response. "You have a very aggressive style."

Valiant smiled arrogantly at that. "Well, as My Lord said, 'To lose is to be disgraced.'"

Uther smiled, appearing satisfied by that answer. "I couldn't agree more." Then turning his head towards her, he said "Knight Valiant, may I present the Lady Morgana, my ward."

Valiant positioned himself in front of her at that, looking at her with a smirk. He bowed to her hand and Morgana smiled at him in return. She noticed Arthur glaring at Valiant out of the corner of her eye and that made her smile even more. "My Lady." Valiant greeted her charmingly once he was standing again.

Morgana smiled flirtatiously at him. "I saw you competing today."

Valiant grinned arrogantly back at her "I saw you watching. I understand the tournament champion has the honor of escorting My Lady to the feast."

Morgana grinned back. "That's correct."

"Then I will give everything to win the tournament." He said with conviction. Morgana felt almost charmed by him but she was still too suspicious of him to trust him. She smiled anyway and nodded at him. Valiant nodded back at her. "My Lady" he said once again, before walking away.

A few knights along the way, it was Arthur's turn. Arthur bowed to his father in a sign of respect and the two exchanged greetings. Morgana noticed Arthur looking at Valiant before turning his attention towards her."They all seem rather impressed by Knight Valiant." She said, just to goad him into jealousy.

Arthur of course immediately took the bait. "They're not the only ones."

Morgana smirked at that, more than a little satisfied at his response. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Arthur immediately became expressionless before replying in a mocking tone. "I don't see there's anything to be jealous of." Morgana immediately stopped smiling and a little hurt probably shone through her expression because she noticed a hint of regret in Arthur's eyes. Of course Arthur was too proud to apologize to her or admit that yes, he was actually jealous, so he simply walked on.

Morgana immediately turned towards Gwen before whispering to her. "Could Arthur be any more annoying? I so hope Knight Valiant wins the tournament."

Guinevere, always sweet and kind, replied "You don't really mean that."

Morgana nodded with conviction, even if she was the first not to believe her own words. "Yes, I do."

* * *

After the second day of the tournament, once again both Arthur and Sir Valiant were able to defeat all of their opponents. Unfortunately Sir Ethan, one of the knights of the Tournament and one Morgana actually knew because it hadn't been the first time he had participated in this tournament, had been gravelly injured and strangely enough Valiant was the one actually responsible for it. It was for this reason that Morgana was right now actually on her way towards Gaius' chambers.

"Lady Morgana" Gaius greeted her immediately, both him and Merlin near the body of Sir Ethan. Gaius was obviously examining him.

"Gaius, Merlin" Morgana greeted back. "How is he?"

"Do you know him well my lady?" Merlin asked her.

"It's Morgana, Merlin. And no, not really. It's not the first time he participated in the tournament, so I talked with him a few times in such occasions." Morgana explained before returning her attention towards Gaius.

"It's most odd. Look at this." He said to the two of them. Morgana and Merlin came closer to Ethan's unconscious figure to see what Gaius was showing them. "See these two small wounds? Looks like a snake bite" Morgana and Merlin exchanged a confused glance at that before Merlin asked Gaius. "How could he have been bitten by a snake? He was injured in the sword fight."

Gaius didn't appear sure of the answer either but said "But the symptoms are consistent with poisoning: slow pulse, fever, paralysis."

"Can you heal him?" Morgana asked him then.

"Well, if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote."

"What happens if he doesn't get the antidote?" Merlin asked this time.

"Then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for him. He's going to die."

"He was fighting Knight Valiant." Merlin muttered to himself but Morgana heard him and her suspicious about the mysterious knight continued to grow.

"What's that?" Gaius asked, not having heard what Merlin had said.

Merlin seemed to snap out of his thoughts and shook his head in answer to Gaius's question. "Nothing".

Expect that it wasn't nothing. If Merlin too was suspicious about Valiant then maybe Morgana wasn't simply being paranoid after all.

* * *

Later that night Merlin entered Gaius' chambers, still incredulous about what he had just seen.

"I've just seen one of the snakes in Valiant's shield come alive. He's using magic." He immediately said to Gaius, a little out of breath.

Gaius became instantly alert at that. "Are you sure?"

Merlin nodded "The snake ate a mouse - one swallow, straight down. Sir Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed. It must've been one of the snakes from the shield. I have to tell Arthur."

Gaius looked worriedly at him at those words. "Is there any chance you might be mistaken?" His tone hopeful that Merlin was mistaken.

But Merlin was sure of what he saw. "I know magic when I see it."

Gaius frowned at those words. "Perhaps, but have you any proof?"

Merlin looked at Gaius a little hurt at that. "Don't you believe me?"

Gaius sighed. "I fear you'll land yourself in trouble. How will you explain why you were in Valiant's chambers?"

"What does that matter?" Merlin raised his voice slightly at that, losing a little of his patience. "He's using magic to cheat in the tournament!"

"But you can't go accusing a knight of using magic without proof. The King would never accept the word of a servant over the word of a knight."

"What? So what I say doesn't count for anything?" He couldn't help but feel offended at hearing this.

Gaius shook his head. "I'm afraid it counts for very little as far as the King is concerned. That's the way it is."

But Merlin wasn't ready to give up just yet. And then the face of Morgana came unbidden in his thoughts and he understood what he had to do. He raised from the chair he was sitting on and turned towards the door without explanation. "Where are you going now?" Gaius asked him when he noticed him about to leave the room.

"To talk to someone who'll believe me." He said to him without turning around. He opened the door and left the room without looking back.

* * *

Morgana woke up at the feeling of someone trying to shake her awake. She bolted upright in a sudden move and immediately noticed the other occupant of the room. "Merlin? What are you doing here?" She asked in a whisper.

"I'm sorry for the hour Morgana and for having entered your chambers like that but I needed to talk to you. It's important and it really couldn't wait." Merlin looked so serious that Morgana immediately realized that something was wrong.

"What happened?" She asked, still whispering.

Merlin then told her everything he had seen, about Valiant and the snakes in his shield, how they had come to life.

"Do you believe me?" He asked then, at the end of his tale.

"Of course I do." She immediately said. "But I'm afraid we'll need more than that to convince Uther of what you saw."

Merlin didn't look discouraged at her answer however. "Yes, Gaius said the same thing. But maybe if you tried to talk to him. Maybe he'll listen to you, you're his ward."

Morgana shook her head. "No, he wouldn't listen, not about this. Especially because I didn't actually see it with my own eyes. No, in this case he wouldn't even listen to me but..." She stopped for a second in contemplation before continuing. "Maybe if we talk about it to Arthur. Together..."

"Do you think he'll believe us?" Merlin asked a little skeptically.

"Yes, I think he will." But there was a note of doubt in her voice that she couldn't avoid expressing.

* * *

Morgana looked at the bear like knight that Arthur had to face now and couldn't help but worry. She noticed herself fidgeting with Gwen's clock and told herself to stop worrying. Arthur would be fine.

"You're not worried, are you?" Gwen asked her, always observant.

"No" Morgana denied immediately. She was almost hoping for Arthur to lose this match. Because the problem would be the knight he would face after this if he won. Knight Valiant.

With Merlin, they had decided to wait talking with Arthur until the final brackets were decided. If Arthur would be forced to face Knight Valiant, then and only then, they would tell him.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Morgana asked Merlin while the both of them were standing outside Arthur's chambers.

The day before Merlin had been able to cut the head of one of the snakes in Valiant's shield and Gaius was using it right now to create an antidote to cure Ewan. With Ewan's testimony they would have enough proof to convince even the King. But now they needed to talk to Arthur and convince him that what Merlin had seen was true.

"Yes, I'm sure" Merlin replied and Morgana nodded at him before knocking on Arthur's door.

Arthur opened the door a few seconds later and smirked when he saw her. "Hello Morgana. Your visits to my bedchamber are becoming rather frequent, don't you think?" Morgana widened her eyes slightly at the double meaning in Arthur's words and couldn't help but blush, especially with Merlin standing just beside her.

"Very funny Arthur" Morgana said with all the dignity she could master. "This is not a social call. Me and Merlin have come to tell you something important"

Only at that point Arthur noticed Merlin's presence there. His face became immediately serious even if his curiosity for the situation was plain in his eyes.

When Merlin showed him the cut head of the snake and explained where it had come from, Arthur looked at him skeptically. "You? You chopped its head off?"

Merlin looked at Morgana for a second, searching for support, before explaining "Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant. You can talk to Gaius, you can see the puncture wounds in Ewan's neck where the snake bit him. Ewan was beating him, he had to cheat"

Arthur was shaking his head, not wanting to believe what Merlin was telling me. "Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot".

"Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him" Merlin tried again.

"I don't like the guy" Arthur said in answer "but that doesn't mean he's cheating".

"Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom." Merlin continued "When Ewan's conscious, he'll tell you what happened. If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you. Look at it!" and with that said, he showed him the snake head. "Have you ever seen any snakes like this in Camelot?" Arthur took the snake head from Merlin and looked it over. Morgana kept silent during the whole exchange, being there more to support Merlin than anything else.

 _"_ I know I'm just a servant and my word doesn't count for anything." Merlin said a little desperately. "I wouldn't lie to you."

"Morgana" Arthur turned towards her at that point. "Do you believe that what he's saying is the truth?"

"Yes" Morgana answered without hesitation.

Arthur nodded, turning then towards Merlin "I want you to swear to me what you're telling me is true"

"I swear it's true" Merlin answered immediately.

Arthur sighed before saying "Then I believe you".

* * *

"Why have you summoned the court?" Uther asked, looking at his son from his high throne. Morgana sat next to him, staying quite for the moment.

"I believe Knight Valiant is using a magic shield to cheat in the tournament" Arthur explained calmly from his standing position in front of the throne, his voice resonating along the entire room.

"Valiant, what do you have to say to this?" Uther asked the yellow knight, his tone suddenly hostile.

"My Lord, this is ridiculous. I've never used magic." His tone was a mix of indignant and smug. "Does your son have any evidence to support this outrageous accusation?

Uther changed expression immediately and directed his stern gaze towards his son. "Do you have evidence?"

Arthur immediately nodded "I do". Arthur motioned for Merlin to come forward to show Uther the snake head. Uther looked grave and partially convinced at this. "Let me see this shield"

Merlin whispered something to Arthur and Arthur immediately added "Be careful, My Lord".

Arthur drew his sword while his father inspected the shield. A few seconds later Gaius entered the room and went directly towards Merlin, whispering something to him. Morgana felt dread at the sight. Something was not right.

"We need Ewan." Arthur said then and Morgana noticed Merlin and Gaius exchanging a worried look at this. "Find out what's happening".

 _"_ As you can see, My Lord" Interjected Valiant, his voice perfectly poised "it's just an ordinary shield".

"He's not going to let everyone see the snakes come alive" Arthur immediately added.

"Then how am I to know that what you say is true?" Uther said, appearing not entirely convinced.

"I have a witness." Arthur said, almost desperate for his father to believe him. "Knight Ewan was bitten by one of the snakes from the shield. Its venom made him grievously ill, however, he has received an antidote. He will confirm that Knight Valiant is using magic".

"Where is this witness?" Asked Uther, getting obviously impatient.

Arthur looked around a little apprehensively "He should be here..." He turned towards Gaius and Merlin in question "Where's Ewan?".

Merlin avoided Arthur's gaze "He's dead". He whispered to him.

"I'm waiting!" Uther bellowed, losing his patience.

Arthur looked defeated at that point "I'm afraid the witness is dead".

"So you have no proof to support these allegations." Uther said, his voice suddenly angry "Have you seen Valiant using magic?"

Arthur shook his head. "No. But my servant fought one of the snakes from..."

"Your servant? You made these outrageous accusations against a knight on the word of your servant?" Uther appeared more and more angry. Morgana decided that that was the time for her to intervene.

"I believe he's telling the truth!" Arthur defended Merlin.

"My Lord, am I really to be judged on some hearsay from a boy?" Valiant asked, his tone arrogant, almost amused by the situation.

"I've seen those snakes come alive!" Merlin tried in vain to be heard by Uther but Uther wasn't listening.

"As did I" Morgana said, in a low voice that was, however, heard all over the room.

"What? Morgana?" Uther asked her, turning towards her in surprise.

"It was yesterday night. I had left my chamber to go to Gaius to ask for a potion because I couldn't sleep. And I walked in front of Knight Valian't room and it was slightly open. I saw him whispering something, some words I didn't understand. And then, the snakes in his shield. They became alive."

Uther looked at Morgana in astonishment but he didn't looked convinced at all.

"Knight Valian't room is on the other side of the castle. Not at all in your way from your chambers to Gaius's rooms. You are lying to protect this servant". Morgana cursed the King's sudden perceptiveness but she continued on. "All right. I didn't see it in person. But I believe Merlin and what I just told you is what he saw...".

Uther shook his head but he wasn't listening anymore. "Guards!" he called out, wanting to imprison Merlin simply for having told the truth.  
"My Lord" Valiant interjected, his tone still smug and arrogant "I'm sure he was merely mistaken. I wouldn't want him punished on my account".

Uther almost smiled at Valiant's words and Morgana had the sudden urge to punch the both of them in the face. "You see? This is how a true knight behaves - with gallantry and honour". His tone almost proud. Arthur looked at the ground in shame at his father's words and Morgana changed her mind about punching him. Running him through with a sword would be a more fitting end for him. How dare he treat Arthur like this?

"My Lord, if your son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me" Valiant continued and Morgana had to restrain himself for getting up from the chair she was sitting on and curse him into oblivion. "then I will graciously accept his withdrawal". He finished with a smirk.

Uther appeared even more enraged towards Arthur at that. And ashamed of him too. "Is this true? Do you wish to withdraw from the tournament?"

"No!" Arthur's voice was loud in his indignation.

"Then what am I to make of these allegations? You and your servant involved even Morgana into this".

"I involved myself, My Lord" Morgana said, her voice offended. "Because I believe Merlin's words. And if you think that Arthur, the best knight in all of Camelot, if not all of Albion, is afraid of a low-class knight such as Valiant, then you don't know your son at all".

"Morgana!" Uther protested, scandalized by her words.

"I tell only the truth My Lord. Arthur can and will beat Valiant and he will show you and all the court that we were right. That Valiant he's using magic to cheat on the tournament. And you will have to swallow your words" She finished with a smirk. Arthur looked at her almost in awe at what she had just said and Morgana smiled back at him, showing everyone present that she was completely on his side. Uther shook his head before asking Arthur to apologize towards Valiant.

Arthur complied, but with obvious irritation "I withdraw the allegation against Knight Valiant. Please accept my apology".

Valiant smirked in satisfaction at this "Accepted".

Morgana got up from her chair and said to both the King and Valiant "Just wait until the end of the tournament. Then we'll see who was right ". And with that, she walked away, Arthur following her a few steps behind.

* * *

Morgana observed Arthur berating Merlin and shook her head at him.

"I believed you, I trusted you, and you made me look a complete fool" Arthur was saying towards Merlin, trying to get over his frustration by putting the blame on Merlin.

"I know it didn't go exactly to plan" Merlin tried to defend himself.

"'Didn't go to plan'?! My father and the entire royal court think I'm a coward! YOU HUMILIATED ME!" He finished, screaming at Merlin.

"Arthur stop! This is not Merlin's fault!" Morgana tried but Arthur wasn't listening to her.

"We can still expose Valiant". Merlin tried once again.

Arthur shook his head and turned his gaze away from him. "I no longer require your services".

"What? Arthur, NO! You can't do this!" Morgana said while Merlin exclaimed at the same time "You're sacking me?"

"I need a servant I can trust" Arthur said, still not looking at him, his tone apologetic and defeated at the same time.

"You can trust me!" Merlin tried desperately but Arthur was firm in his decision.

"And look where it got me this time. Get out of my sight!" Merlin looked at Arthur one last time before leaving the room.

Morgana stared at Arthur, disappointed and Arthur seemed to notice because he said "Don't look at me like that. What was I supposed to do?". Morgana shook her head at him before adding "You're making a mistake" before leaving the room also.

* * *

Morgana headed towards Gaius' chambers that night, the night before the final row of the tournament, wanting to ask Merlin if he had some kind of idea on how to unmask Valiant as the cheater he really was.

She entered without knocking and went directly towards Merlin's room. Gaius seemed not to be in the room at the moment. She immediately noticed Merlin in the mist of practicing some spell, a statue of a dog in front of him and a book of spells opened on his lap.  _"Bebay odothay. Bebay odothay arisan quickum."._ He whispered the spell but nothing happened.

"Hey" Morgana said, her voice low so not to startled him. Merlin raised his head at her voice and jumped out of his bed anyway. "Morgana!" He looked flustered, probably at her presence in his room.

"What was that spell? What are you trying to do?" Morgana asked him curiously.

"I'm trying to make this statue of a dog come alive" he started but Morgana had already understood what his purpose was in doing this and smiled at him "So that you can use the same spell tomorrow and show everyone the snakes coming to life." Merlin smiled at her, nodding enthusiastically before deflating a little "Unfortunately I didn't have much luck yet".

"We can try it together if you want. But I don't know how much use it will be because I won't be able to help you tomorrow. I can't cast a spell from the highest stands where I'll be sitting tomorrow and especially with Uther right next to me" Morgana frowned apologetically at him.

"I know" Merlin smiled sadly at her.

"But I'm sure you will be able to do it. You're very powerful Merlin. There's nothing that - if you put your mind into it - you won't be able to do". Merlin blushed slightly at her praise but he didn't say anything else.

"I have to go now" Morgana said then and Merlin nodded at her in understanding "Goodnight Merlin" She said in farewell.

"Goodnight, My Lady" He replied immediately and after a last nod towards him, she left the room.

* * *

"Arthur!" Morgana startled awake from a vision of Arthur being killed by Valiant in the tournament tomorrow and she felt more and more apprehensive. She hoped Merlin would be able to do what he had planned because she couldn't stand the idea of Arthur dying.

She got up from the lounge where she had fallen asleep and walked towards the window, seeing Arthur practicing in the square below. Only when she saw Arthur retiring for the night, she left the window and went to bed, her sleep disturbed by terrible visions.

* * *

Morgana entered Arthur's chambers the next morning and observed Arthur's old servant helping him put his armour on. When the servant noticed her, he stopped what he was doing and bowed to her. Morgana approach Arthur and said to the servant "Let me". The servant bowed to her again before leaving the room.

Morgana came closer to Arthur's back and started fixing the strap for the gorget, then tightening the vambrace. At Arthur's surprised expression at her ease with which she was working, she explained "I used to help my father with his armour". Arthur nodded at her and Morgana walked around him to hand him his helmet. She couldn't help but let her hand linger on his armour-clad chest.

Arthur looked at her for a long moment, his gaze intense. "Thanks". Morgana nodded at him before coming closer to his face almost involuntarily, feeling almost like a powerful force was pushing them towards each other. Arthur did the same before the both of them stopped at the same time and turned away from each other like nothing had happened. Arthur started to walk away from her but Morgana's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Arthur, be careful". Morgana couldn't hide her worry towards him, nor did she want to.

Arthur nodded at her with a smile before saying in a light tone _"_ See you at the feast".

* * *

Morgana observed with nervousness both Arthur and Valiant making their way towards the field. The two started fighting each other and Arthur was able to knock Valiant's helmet off his head. Arthur removed his and the both of them pulled down their mail coifs. Valiant was able to knock Arthur to the ground before stepping on his shield. Arthur was disarmed by Valiant but he was able to block his sword before Valiant could strike. Arthur got up from the ground but he wasn't able to retrieve his sword. Valiant pinned Arthur against a wall but Arthur was, once again, able to shove him off himself. Morgana started searching for Merlin in the crowd and noticed him hidden behind the stands, and obviously ready to cast the spell. Morgana prayed for the spell to work.

A few seconds later, snakes started to come out of the shield, for everyone in the crowd to see. The crowd stood up in surprised at once. Uther looked just as much astonished as everyone else. Morgana had the sudden urge to tell the King 'I told you so' but restrained herself.

"What are you doing?" Morgana heard Valiant shouting towards the snakes "I didn't summon you!"

"He's using magic." Uther stated the obvious.

"And now they see you for what you really are" Arthur stated calmly towards Valiant. Morgana smiled at his words.

Valiant didn't seem particularly concerned at having been found out. He ordered the snakes to kill Arthur and Arthur was forced to back away until he found himself against a wall, just a few meters away from where Morgana was immediately grabbed the sword from the knight sitting next to her and threw it to Arthur.

"Arthur!" She shouted to him, to catch his attention "Catch!" Arthur caught the sword in hand before killing the snakes. Arthur was able to disarm Valiant before running him through with the sword. Morgana breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's looks like I'll be going to the feast after all" Arthur said, his gaze searching that of Morgana in the crowd. Morgana smiled at him, proud and relieved.

* * *

"My honourable guests" Uther was saying, standing at the end of the room, his gaze riveted towards the door. "I give you Prince Arthur, your champion" Arthur entered the room at that point and offered Morgana his arm. "My Lady" Arthur inclined his head towards her with a smile.

Morgana curtsied in return _"_ My champion". And the two of them made their way towards Uther, the crown court standing at both their sides.

* * *

"See, I told you he gets all the girls and the glory." Merlin commented, his tone only half-joking.

Gaius smiled at him, understandingly "And he owes it all to you."

* * *

"Has your father apologised yet for not believing you?" Morgana asked Arthur once the two of them had stopped at one side of the room.

Arthur shook his head with a sad smile that looked more like a grimace "He'll never apologise." Before adding, his tone almost shy "I hope, uh, you're not disappointed Valiant's not escorting you."

Morgana smiled at him "Turns out he wasn't really champion material." Arthur smiled back at her.

"That was some tournament final." Arthur commented then and Morgana immediately nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it. It's not every day a girl gets to save her prince."

Arthur immediately changed expression at that and he forced a laugh out of his lips "Uh, I wouldn't say I needed exactly saving. I'm sure I would've thought of something." He finished with a nod, his tone convinced.

Morgana almost shook his head at him "So you're too proud to admit you were saved by a girl". She said with a smirk.

Arthur looked offended at that "Because I wasn't".

Morgana looked offended too at that "You know what? I wish Valiant was escorting me". She said, just to get a rise out of him.

Arthur nodded in agreement "Me too. Then I wouldn't have to listen to you".

Morgana almost felt hurt at that "Fine!" She said in indignation.

"Fine" Arthur immediately retorted back. Morgana huffed, immediately storming off to complain with Gwen about Arthur. Arthur watched her go for a second before turning towards Merlin.

 _"_ Can you believe Morgana? She says she saved me." He said, his tone still indignant. "Like I needed any help." Then noticing that Merlin wasn't saying anything back, he added, his tone now serious and apologetic "I wanted to say I made a mistake. It was unfair to sack you." And he couldn't help but think about what Morgana had told him yesterday, and cursed once again the fact that she seemed to always be right. It was irritating.

Merlin smiled at his words "No, don't worry about it. Buy me a drink and call it even."

Arthur looked uncomfortable at that "Uh, I can't be seen to be buying drinks for my servant".

"Your servant?" Merlin asked surprised "You sacked me".

"Now I'm rehiring you" Arthur said in response, like it was perfectly obvious.

Merlin snorted at that but didn't complain further.

Arthur started to list a series of things Merlin needed to do and Merlin almost wished Arthur hadn't rehired him. "My chambers are a complete mess. My clothes need washing. My, uh, armour needs repairing. My boots need cleaning. My dogs need exercising. My fireplace needs sweeping. My bed needs changing. And someone needs to muck out my stables." Merlin stopped listening at 'complete mess' and turned to look towards Morgana. Morgana smiled back at him, and that smile said 'We did it. Arthur is safe and everything is back on how it was supposed to be'. Merlin nodded, happy that he had someone in Camelot who really understood him. He didn't feel so alone anymore and that was all because of Morgana.


End file.
